Opportunity History

Original Synopsis

Mar 25, 2010

1:26 pm

Solicitation Number:

PRESOLAHRQ-10-10010

Notice Type:

Presolicitation

Synopsis:

Added: Mar 25, 2010 1:26 pm

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) intends to award a contract on a sole-source basis for Technical Assistance for Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) and Common Formats to the World Development Group (WDG), Bethesda, MD, a small business. The purpose is for the provision of technical assistance to AHRQ for the development of Common Formats for patient safety event reporting and the delivery of technical assistance to support AHRQ’s administration of the PSO program. The proposed technical assistance contract encompasses activities associated with the AHRQ Common Formats and AHRQ’s administration of the Patient Safety Organization (PSO) program pursuant to the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) of 2005.

Common Formats technical assistance activities include: 1) development of new content for the AHRQ Common Formats, 2) maintenance and revisions to current Common Formats, 3) assistance with design and development of a national database for analyzing patient safety event information, and 4) liaison representation to Federal and private sector standards development endeavors.

Technical assistance to support AHRQ’s administration of the PSO program includes: 1) participation in technical assistance phone calls and preparation of written technical documents with the intent to respond to, clarify and explain the Patient Safety Act and Rule to the public, state and Federal legislators/regulators, and PSOs, 2) coordination of interagency responses to PSO inquiries, 3) assistance with preparation of policies and procedures to conduct PSO Compliance Reviews, and 4) conducting and documenting PSO Compliance Reviews.

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act was enacted in July, 2005, and a final rule promulgated by HHS was effective January 19th, 2009. AHRQ is the agency designated to administer the Patient Safety Organization program, which includes the following activities: 1) listing Patient Safety Organizations (PSO); 2) conducting Compliance Reviews of PSOs; 3) providing technical assistance to PSOs; 4) developing of Common Formats for patient safety event reporting by healthcare providers and the PSOs; 5) developing a Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD); and 6) creating and publishing reports using NPSD data to meet statutory obligations.

The PSO program is an ongoing operational activity at AHRQ, and there are many on-going activities, as well as new initiatives, and the expansion of current activities. Major activities that will occur within the PSO program in the next several years include: 1) release of Common Formats 1.1 (for hospitals) with technical specifications; 2) continual revisions to the Common Formats; 3) receipt of data from PSOs based upon Common Formats 1.1; 4) rendering PSO data non-identifiable and transferring to the NPSD; 5) generation of reports from the NPSD and publication in AHRQ’s annual National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports; 6) publication of the statutorily-required report to Congress and the Institute of Medicine; 7) continued listing of new PSOs and expansion of technical assistance services to PSOs; 8) development of Common Formats for skilled nursing facilities; 9) development of Common Formats for ambulatory surgery centers; 10) initiation of PSO Compliance Reviews and continuation on an annual basis; and 11) conducting annual conferences/meetings for PSOs. AHRQ has developed this acquisition plan for technical assistance and support services that are necessary for successful continuation and completion of PSO activities.

The proposed acquisition is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. For this requirement, sources must have experience with implementation of the Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety Rule. Sources must have a demonstrated track record of experience with building national health quality and patient safety databases, and development of common data formats for patient safety and quality improvement reporting. Sources must possess qualifications and demonstrated experience with development of root cause analysis/event analysis protocols, international development of patient safety taxonomy and standardization of patient safety protocols and procedures, International Standards Development Organizations (e.g., HL -7, ISO), and development of technical and reporting specifications for patient safety and quality improvement databases, including implementation of Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) file formats. Sources are required to have experience working on the World Health Organization’s International Classification for Patient Safety and Hi 5s projects. Sources must also possess, or be able to obtain in-house or through subcontracting arrangements, the staff and other resources needed to expeditiously carry out the different types of required activities.

Interested organizations capable of performing the above requisite qualifications and expertise, should submit a statement of capabilities with documentation supporting its ability to meet the Government’s requirements as described above no later than April 6, 2010 by 12 noon local time. No solicitation document is currently available. Capability statements should be submitted electronically to Mary Haines at Mary.Haines@ahrq.hhs.gov, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850. Capability statements received the stated due date will not be reviewed. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.